Hello, dear reader, and welcome to a discussion of time in comics. It may be better to define this blog as an article discussing the virtues of statically and dynamically aging characters. An example of a statically aging character would be Jason in the comic strip Foxtrot by Bill Amend. Jason is always 10 years old, regardless of his printed date, and is able to exist in the same year as the reader.
Foxtrot began in 1988 and has continued to the present day. For example, let us say Jason was a 10-year-old introduced to Warcraft when it was brand new. And Jason was 10 when he was recently introduced to Warcraft III. So, a 10-year-old has lived for 28 years as a 10-year-old . The opposite of this time frozen state would be any comic which shows time affecting its characters. You know, time actually passes for them, and they age. Most graphic novels, or comics with a beginning and end to them, exhibit this view of time. There are story-telling benefits to both paradigms.
A statically aged character looks the same, unless they do a costume change. This means you could always count on them to act according to their constant personality. They never really act differently and their motivations are concrete. Small changes from the writer will emerge as the character is further developed, but the diamond core of the character is formed over time. Hobbes always tackles Calvin. It is a repeatable gag, with small changes, and always got a grin from me. Even when I saw it four other times. The story consequence is you could put this character in any situation and always see them react as you would expect. Or you can repeat a situation, and have the character react as normal.
Throw Calvin into a dream, throw him into a zoo, and you know he’ll get into trouble somehow; or make a philosophical remark. Calvin’s story is centered around him being the troublesome kid who never changes, no matter what. Dynamic time is interesting because it allows you to see characters’ personalities and motivations change over time. They could also stay the same core character in spite of their challenges. Dynamic time peels through a character’s exterior and shows how they grow. Both have benefits.
The benefit of static time is the ability to bring comfort and a constant to your audience. Jason Fox will always act like a nerdy 10-year-old . If you give him a new piece of tech he’ll geek out. It’s expected, and a desired reaction for the audience. It makes writing new comic strips a bit easier because you can find your magic formula, rinse, and repeat. As long as you don’t overuse it. People eventually get tired of repetition if they notice it, and if they don’t find joy in it. Activision’s Call of Duty franchise has done very well based on creating small changes in its multiplayer game without doing anything innovative with its formula. The trick is the small changes, and keeping its audience engaged. Static time is perfect for newspaper strips because generations can share love for a character, and the brand, over time. Dynamic time’s best benefit comes from watching a character grow before your eyes. You see their origin (from your viewpoint) and you get to enjoy viewing how the journey changes them. Dynamic time allows you to keep story themes and see where those themes lead your characters. Goals can change, and so can personalities. The story can be reborn each issue and it still works. The audience can see if Wolverine changes, or believes he has even more reason to remain the same after his latest adventure.
Which time paradigm do you prefer? Do you like to see characters change at all? Next week I’m going to discuss business possibilities for both styles. Let me know what you think about time in comics, and follow my Facebook page or Twitter account to receive a notification when the next blog is posted. Have a good day, dear reader!
Foxtrot began in 1988 and has continued to the present day. For example, let us say Jason was a 10-year-old introduced to Warcraft when it was brand new. And Jason was 10 when he was recently introduced to Warcraft III. So, a 10-year-old has lived for 28 years as a 10-year-old . The opposite of this time frozen state would be any comic which shows time affecting its characters. You know, time actually passes for them, and they age. Most graphic novels, or comics with a beginning and end to them, exhibit this view of time. There are story-telling benefits to both paradigms.
A statically aged character looks the same, unless they do a costume change. This means you could always count on them to act according to their constant personality. They never really act differently and their motivations are concrete. Small changes from the writer will emerge as the character is further developed, but the diamond core of the character is formed over time. Hobbes always tackles Calvin. It is a repeatable gag, with small changes, and always got a grin from me. Even when I saw it four other times. The story consequence is you could put this character in any situation and always see them react as you would expect. Or you can repeat a situation, and have the character react as normal.
Throw Calvin into a dream, throw him into a zoo, and you know he’ll get into trouble somehow; or make a philosophical remark. Calvin’s story is centered around him being the troublesome kid who never changes, no matter what. Dynamic time is interesting because it allows you to see characters’ personalities and motivations change over time. They could also stay the same core character in spite of their challenges. Dynamic time peels through a character’s exterior and shows how they grow. Both have benefits.
The benefit of static time is the ability to bring comfort and a constant to your audience. Jason Fox will always act like a nerdy 10-year-old . If you give him a new piece of tech he’ll geek out. It’s expected, and a desired reaction for the audience. It makes writing new comic strips a bit easier because you can find your magic formula, rinse, and repeat. As long as you don’t overuse it. People eventually get tired of repetition if they notice it, and if they don’t find joy in it. Activision’s Call of Duty franchise has done very well based on creating small changes in its multiplayer game without doing anything innovative with its formula. The trick is the small changes, and keeping its audience engaged. Static time is perfect for newspaper strips because generations can share love for a character, and the brand, over time. Dynamic time’s best benefit comes from watching a character grow before your eyes. You see their origin (from your viewpoint) and you get to enjoy viewing how the journey changes them. Dynamic time allows you to keep story themes and see where those themes lead your characters. Goals can change, and so can personalities. The story can be reborn each issue and it still works. The audience can see if Wolverine changes, or believes he has even more reason to remain the same after his latest adventure.
Which time paradigm do you prefer? Do you like to see characters change at all? Next week I’m going to discuss business possibilities for both styles. Let me know what you think about time in comics, and follow my Facebook page or Twitter account to receive a notification when the next blog is posted. Have a good day, dear reader!